EnterpriseDB, which offers a supported version of the open-source PostGres database, is now offering unlimited subscriptions that will allow organizations to run as many copies of the database server software as they desire. Total cost? US$40,000 per year.

This pricing deal is intended to introduce MySQL users and other enterprise database users to PostGres, said Karen Tegan Padir, vice president of products and marketing for EnterpriseDB.

Now that Oracle has control of MySQL, organizations may want to look for more alternatives, she said.

Many organizations that invested in both MySQL and Oracle now “don’t feel as if they have leverage,” she said. “I think the open-source movement helps them control their costs and have leverage over proprietary vendors.”

The plan is also aimed to help organizations that may already have plans, but not the budget, to migrate to PostGres, she said.

While MySQL has gotten the lion’s share of attention when it comes to the subject of open-source databases, PostGres, also known as PostGreSQL, has shown itself to be a viable contender for enterprise use.

Tegan Padir, formerly the Sun Microsystems vice president overseeing MySQL, noted the PostGres is a general purpose enterprise-level database, one that can scale up well and is especially well-suited for handling online transactions applications.

In this pricing plan, organizations can run copies of EnterpriseDB’s Postgres Plus Standard Server across an unlimited number of sockets for $40,000 per year.

Also included in this package are use of other supporting software, such as the Postgres Plus HQ Monitoring and the xDB Oracle Replication Server, as well as software updates and technical support from EnterpriseDB as well.

After the first year, customers may extend the terms for an additional two years. After three years, the company may consider grandfathering in, or continuing to offer the subscription, under similar conditions. “It’s not our intentions to get customers in and then jack up the prices,” she said.

Before this offer, the cost of running Postgres Plus Standard Server on two dual-processor servers ran about $47,000 a year. The unlimited socket offer not only beats that price, but substantially undercuts the costs of running MySQL, SQL Server, or DB2 implementations as well, Tegan Padir said.

Migrating data and stored procedures from these other databases should be a fairly straightforward procedure, Tegan Padir said. In some cases, migration from an Oracle database may work as well, though if the customer is using some Oracle advanced features, it may be better off using EnterpriseDB’s Postgres Plus Advanced Server, which is not available under the same deal, she said.

Though the offer is available globally, outside the U.S., it will be available primarily through resellers.